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Halo 2 Available on the Net
syberanarchy writes "Gamespot reports that Halo 2 has already been leaked to the internet via French newsgroups and P2P networks, almost a month before release! Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?" See also gamesindustry.biz and The Register.
Ever try to stand in front of a typhoon with an umbrella?
Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
...could be a way of increasing the pre-release hype?
Bureaucracy loves company.
Pirates will be pirates, law abiding citizens will be law abiding citizens. There is probably alot more to this release date, there is most likely alot of TV ads and magazine ads that are set to launch at the same time.
Okay, okay. First they invent a language where you DON'T SAY MOST OF THE LETTERS IN A WORD. Then they sell nuclear reactors to Iraq. Then they infiltrate Burger King with criossandwiches. But THIS is going too damned far.
"Wow. Now THAT'S a lot of angry Indians." - Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
This has been like this for years. For as long as the "scene" exists. Nothing to see here, move along. But frankly, the more intermediate poeple getting their hands on the Gold master before it's heading out to press, the easier it is to leak.
They've hyped November 9th too much. I just can't see Bungie changing their release date, no matter how many reasons there may be.
I don't even have an Xbox, but what is the hardware you would need to burn the Xbox ISO once you downloaded it off P2P? I'm merely curious.
CD burner? DVD burner? Xbox equipped with modchip or no?
- Yolego
I like how on the front page directly under this story is the article U.S. Declares War on Intellectual Property Theft.
It's a Bagel.
"Push up" means "make it sooner" -- that is, make it available in stores on October 16th. Sooner. So then you spend $ on Halo 2 instead of getting a friend to burn you a copy that is the French audio rip with UK subtitles.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
Ahoy!
Aye, talk like a piiiiiiiiiiiraaaate day haz been extended me mateees.
Shiver me timbers, bring me some halo 2 smartly now ye blige rats.
Arr arr
Here.
More like... nerdular nerdence!
Nobody expects them to delay their release, the question was: "Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?"
Knowing that it is available now on the internet, they would be wise to release it sooner to the public in order to turn would-be downloaders into sales. Halo 2 has such a high demand that the hardcore fans will download it if they can get it sooner, and once they have it, why bother paying for it?
However, the percentage of customers who have modded xboxes, a fast connection to download a DVD image in a reasonable amount of time, the means to get it running, and who also won't buy the game when it comes out on shelves (and can stand playing the PAL version with French dialogue) are probably too small to matter to MS/Bungie, and not enough of a threat to their profits.
The speed of time is one second per second.
...but it's insanely amusing that it happened right before the "US Declared War on Intellectual Property Theft".
IP Theft pre-emptively attacked!
If I remember correctly, Halo 2 has already gone gold. It'll be difficult to increase the speed of a release at this point. There are a lot of logistical factors that they'll have to overcome to increase production for an immediate release.
If they DO release sooner, and there aren't enough copies, that will also cause a case where people will go to the 'net for the game.
~D
This sig has been enciphered with a one-time pad. It could say almost anything.
"It should be noted that players who download the game illegally could face a maximum penalty of $100,000 per infringement for copyright violations."
:P
In the Netherlands at least it's legal to download, but illegal to upload stuff like this.
I'd like to see them try to extradite an infringer.
This is the sig that says NI (again)
PAL works just fine on a modded NTSC xbox. So does any other signal format. It's just digital video being rendered at a certain resolution and being pumped out in a certain way, depends on which av pack you have.
Chris
Whether you like Microsoft or not, this is bad. Many people have poured their hearts and souls into making that game not just because they like making cool stuff, but because they like to bring happyness to people. The person who leaked this clearly has no respect for the creators of the game.
As a game developer, I urge you to show some respect for the creators of the game by not downloading or distributing it. My first game came out a couple of weeks ago on PS2 and XBox and it's both frustrating and disappointing to see it readily available on P2P networks. How would you like to see something you've worked on for 50+ hours a week for months on end being freely copied around?
If you're intent on doing it, at least wait until the game has been released and if you like it, please buy it to support the developers. $50 isn't much to pay considering the number of hours of entertainment you get from the tens of thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars that would have gone into producing it - infinitely better value than a movie.
No one has answered:
1) Why the hell would this force Bungie to push forward the release date? I'm sorry, but I didn't spend the time or money to mod my x-box, and I don't want to play the goddamn game in French, since I don't speak French and I'd kind of like to know what the hell is going on when I play the game.
2) Does this mean pre-orders in France are going to be canceled all of the sudden? I doubt it. Even with filesharing, artists can still sell millions of albums.
3) Who is responsible for this, exactly? Pirates? Like the ones from Penzance, or the less musical Barbary Pirates? Someone said French journalists. Uh, RTFM. There's a big difference between "news groups" and journalists.
Hm... risk a $100,000 fine for illegally downloading it, or risk a $1,000 fine for stealing a physical copy when it's released...
it wont affect Bungies release date, but it will be a good excuse to delay HL2 some more
My question, though: who'd honestly want a pirate release they can play only on a modded Xbox, when the big draw of Halo 2 is Xbox Live compatibility (which automatically bans anyone who mods their Xbox)? I'll pony up the $50. It's worth it.
As sad as it is, is anyone suprised that it happened? I mean, it's only the most anticipated game of the year (HL2 was the most anticipated game of last year, it's just coming out this year). I've got my preorder in, and I know a lot of other people who won't bother with it either. However, there are people who will always look to cheat the system, and as much as we hate it there's no use crying or screaming or starting flamewars that this will hurt 'the programmers'. But that's not the worst of it.
.00001% of their yearly profits. What's next, that each copy will be biometrically tied to us, so we need to activate out consoles with a thumbprint identification before we can turn it on?
My main concern is the response and backlash from the Corps. It's not that I condone the behavior of these thieves, but I'm desperately afraid of the cure will be worse than the disease. Already we have games that can't work in everyone's PC, or disable programs you legitemately install. We have operating systems that require you to phone home every time you change your hardware, just so that the company can make sure you're not stealing
And what's going to be the target of the corporation's wrath, you ask? In this case, it's going to be USENET, BITTORRENT, and IRC. Three out-of-the-mainstream networks that corporations will try to convince law makers are nothing but havens for pirates and thieves. You'll hear the words "Terrorists" and "Child Pr0n" before this is over, too.
It's a tough world we live in. No matter which side you stand for, this much is certain: you're going to get screwed.
This "leak" is just a pretext for the USA to declare war on France.
We've all been waiting for an October Surprise, and it looks like this is going to be it. You heard it here first.
Now if you'll excuse me, there are some men wearing sunglasses who would like to have a word with --
I thought "push up" was a kind of bra.
"...today consumers have been conditioned to think of beer when they see a bullfrog..."
This doesn't mean the game is completly finished. For instance localization, translating to different languages. Age verification. Box cover printed. Manual translated and printed. And of course the game image created and cd's pressed.
Then all the parts got to come together and be shipped all over the place.
This all takes time and the real potential of delay. Say you discover that the final image your ready to press has a flaw. Have to do it all over again. Then telling the audience that, sorry it gonna be delayed 2 days is impossible. All those ads "on sale on XXXX-XX-XX" will be wrong.
Just because a game is ready for sale does not mean it is immidiatly in a shop.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I'll pony up too, but I'll also be playing it a month early.
The big draw isn't Xbox Live. The big draw is it's a new Halo, and any Xbox Live support is just icing on the cake.
Halo 1 did fine without it. You can still play with your friends locally, or even use XBConnect to use it to play over the Internet.
Pope is catholic ...
Come on, is this news ???
"Halo 1 did fine without it."
From my understanding, they plan to support LAN parties by allowing connected Xboxes to go on Live together as one "team". All they've been testing is multiplayer the last few months (see various GameSpot articles). There's also clan support and it'll be the introduction of "Xbox Live 3.0". I think they view it as pretty important.
I was going to mod this article, but I decided to post instead.
I hear a lot of people posting comments saying that most people with modded XBOXs are just going to download the game and put up with the French audio and UK subtitles rather than ponying up the $50. Having a modded XBOX, I take offense to that. I've played Halo for years now, and it is the best game I have ever played. I have spent so long waiting for Halo 2 to come out that another few weeks won't make a difference to me. The true diehard fans of Halo will not download the game. Rather, they will buy legit copies of Halo 2, and pay the developers the respect, and money, that they deserve for producing such an awesome game. People who steal from Bungie are not true Halo fans.
Not intended as a troll, and though offtopic, I believe this to be an important and defining trait among many in the /. community, deserving attention.
Music can't be stolen, but software can. Why?
Standing on the shoulders of giants.
A true Halo fan wouldn't want to play the damn thing in French for the first time
CTF is sure going to be interesting with two white flags.